Heartbreak hotel

Chapter 9

Royal would forever be grateful to the Tomas’ more so than they could realise. After all, they had been the ones to take him when he had no one; they had opened their arms and home to him, and he would always be grateful for it. He had finally achieved the one thing he had never thought he would get in this lifetime: a family.

But with the Romeros here, tensions were running high. They had only been here for four days, and more arguments between the parents had occurred in the past four days than during the entire year he’d been living with them.

Midnight, Royal and Isaiah were all in Midnight’s room at Luca’s place, and the three were higher than the sky right now, as they often were, giggling about nothing and everything simultaneously. “What’s that song?” Midnight mumbled as he took a swing of the drink beside him.

“What song?” Isaiah asked. He was leaning his head on Royal’s shoulder, playing with the taller man’s fingers before he sat up, took a swing of the drink and then went back to leaning on his shoulder.

“You know, it goes,” Midnight finished his sentence by humming a tune that Royal was familiar with, and he sighed a little. Of course, even if they didn’t have the same genre in common, he was so well known that they would know about it.

“Oh,” Isaiah responded, and instead of responding to the question, he began humming along too. “I don’t like his music, not my style, but he’s pretty.”

“Heartbreak Hotel by Q,” Royal replied, taking a massive swing of the drink when both men turned to stare at him. “That’s the name of the song you’re both humming.”

“Ahh,” they both replied. “Should we listen to it?” Midnight asked. “I know it’s Gabe’s favourite song right now, says he loves the violin.”

“No,” Royal groaned. “I don’t want to,” he whined.

Isaiah rolled his eyes as he sat up. “You don’t listen to it, we will. And while we listen to it, will you get more snacks?”

“And drinks, we’re running low,” Midnight added, waving the half-empty bottle in Royal’s face.

“We stole that drink from Ash, remember,” Isaiah said.

“Oh, yes. Raid Luca’s pantry and then grab the drinks from next door, we’ll be here waiting.”

Royal sighed and stood up, wobbling a little. Isaiah grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him down, giving him a chaste kiss before returning to the conversation he and Midnight had had about the violin. Royal stumbled out of the bedroom, and his mind was racing.

Luca’s home was much smaller than the others, but something about his home always brought a sense of cosiness to Royal, one that he had lacked in his childhood. Though the same could be said about next door, his previous home had to be on par with the scale of that home, but theirs was always so much more inviting than his had been. Maybe it was the colours, the dark green living room, the plant life, and the people compared to his, which had been cold, white marble, with white furniture and the lack of people.

As he went to the kitchen, he remembered the kiss Isaiah had left so quickly, and something inside Royal broke. Maybe it was the butterflies trying to escape from his stomach, or maybe they were dying. He wasn’t sure, but he knew, he had always known, that this was nothing. Isaiah had been very clear about the rules before they started this whole endeavour; this was nothing but some light fun, and at first, Royal thought he would never find himself falling for Isiah, but lo and behold, a year later, he had fallen.

At first, he had thought that maybe as time continued to move forward, Isaiah could also fall for him, and sometime in the future, they would look back at this time in their life and laugh it off, talking about how they needed to improve their communication or something similar. And at first, he thought the chances weren’t slim, but they weren’t zero. That was until he found out about Jamie.

Royal muttered to himself as he stuffed his arms full of snacks. He looked at the box of dried nuts and seeds and snorted. That box had been there for years, and no one had reached for it, but everyone was too scared to move it, afraid of the smell. Ash had once gotten sick of it and was about to throw it away until Thea revealed that she had been dropping food she didn't want in there, and that led to the revelation that Bailey, Midnight, Ace and Isaac also did the same. Now, no one dared to touch it.

Royal walked up the stairs, scowling at the thought of Jamie, but then he found himself humming a song, and something inside him twisted. He had been singing Heartbreak Hotel by Q. Something similar to dread washed over him, but then he realised it wasn’t dread; it was sadness. He missed his brothers, though they would never be in the same room again. Royal walked in, and Isaiah was a little drowsy, almost falling asleep sitting up. Royal sighed as he dropped the snacks before Midnight and moved over to the man.

“Zaya,” he muttered, struggling to bear his weight. “Come on, if you’re going to sleep, sleep on the bed.”

Isaiah murmured something and then looked up at Royal through bleary eyes. He then smiled. Royal froze as one thing went through his mind: he wasn’t thinking about him. “Jamie?” Isaiah asked. “When did you get back?”

Royal sighed. “I’m not Jamie,” he deadpanned, dropping the man on the bed, much rougher than he had intended.

“Oh,” the man said, frowning a little. “Royal. Sorry.”

Royal shook his head and walked to the door. “Where are you going?” Midnight called out, already pigging out on the snacks. He had opened three different ones and was stuffing them all in his mouth.

“Drinks,” Royal deadpanned.

He walked next door, and his mind returned to the man, Jamie. Everyone seemed to know about him, everyone but Royal. Before him, there was Jamie, and unlike him, Isaiah was in love with the man. That was all he knew. He went to the Tomas’s pantry and found the drinks they kept. He grabbed a bottle. And then shrugged before opening it and taking a few large gulps. f*****g Jamie.

Royal was about to leave with the bottle, but he froze when he heard feet patter on the tile. Peeking through the small gap in the pantry door, he realised Ash had stormed in, Sebastian hot on his tail. Well, at least he had the bottle to keep him company, and he would wait for them out and then go back to Midnight.

~*~